1. Technical Field
The present invention related generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular relates to a method and apparatus for conducting an inventory of a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for conducting an inventory of a data processing system and sending the inventory to a remote data processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of different client data processing systems and host data processing systems may be located on a network data processing system. Management of all the different data processing systems on a network can be time consuming and complex. Upgrades to software and hardware require knowledge of the software and hardware that is located on the different data processing systems in a network. This information may be gathered in different ways. One process is for administrators to physically go to each data processing system and perform an inventory. Another mechanism provides for an inventory to be automatically initiated on each data processing system with those results being returned to one or more collection points. IBM Tivoli Configuration Manager, available from International Business Machines Corporation, is an example of a management tool that allows for deployment of software across a network. This tool and other similar tools include a process that is initiated by the operating system to automatically collect software and hardware information about a data processing system and send that information to one or more collection points, also referred to as listener servers. This information is used in the deployment and management of software on the network.
One problem associated with this type of process is that a user may turn off such a feature. Also, in more and more data processing systems, multiple operating systems may be present and run at different times. Unless the inventory process is set up for each operating system, the inventory of the data processing system may not occur as desired in the instance when an operating system is started in which the inventory process is not set up for that operating system. Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved operating-system independent method, apparatus, and computer instructions for conducting an inventory on a data processing system.